Volume 2: Guidance on water conservation in food value chains: Part 2: Guidebook for Extension Officers in the Maruleng Municipal Area

Expanded Title:

The overall objective of the project was to support efficient and sustainable conservation of water as a production input in food value chains following equitable allocation of water resources in irrigated agriculture.
The research findings highlight that much still has to be done to align land reform and water allocation reform. This has also been clear from the project’s case study area, where water allocation reform has not been nearly as prominent or influential as the land reform process. In fact, water allocation reform has for the most part been non-existent, with the majority of beneficiaries not having any knowledge of water allocation reform processes in their area. The level of knowledge regarding the quantity of water used, licensing and water use authorisation, financial support for resource poor farmers and efficiency practices has also been found to be extremely low. During the period of research, it became evident that not a single farmer from the irrigation schemes within the scope of the project study area had a water use licence in place. In the case of the Community Property Associations (CPAs), very few farmers knew about water use licensing, and it was only the management structure of the CPAs that was aware of water allocation and water use licensing.
This project has resulted in a number of relevant findings and key messages that will be valuable inputs to South Africa’s land reform and water allocation reform initiatives. One of the key deliverables of this project is a set of three guidebooks aimed at emerging farmers, agricultural extension officers and policy advisors working in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). Each of the guidebooks is aimed towards a different target audience and targets some of the perceived knowledge needs of that particular audience, as established during the course of the research. The contents of the guidebooks focus on the key themes of the research project: water allocation and land reform, water conservation and food value chains.